The percentage of persons living in poverty has continued to decline since 1993, when the poverty rate for all persons was at a ten-year high of just over 15 percent. In 1999, the overall poverty rate was just under 12 percent, the lowest level since 1979.

While the poverty rate for children has declined along with the overall rate in the past several years, children, particularly young children, continue to have higher poverty rates than the overall population. For example, in 1999, the poverty rate for related children ages 0 to 5 was 18 percent, compared to 12 percent for the overall population.

The poverty rate for blacks declined nearly 10 percentage points between 1992 and 1999, from 33 percent to less than 24 percent, as shown in Table ECON 1. The gap between black and white poverty rates was at an historic low of 14 percentage points; the gap has narrowed by a third since the early 1990s, when it exceeded 21 percentage points. The poverty rate among Hispanics reached 23 percent in 1999, the lowest level since 1979.

The poverty rate for the elderly (persons ages 65 and over) reached an historic low of less than 10 percent in 1999. This was a lower poverty rate than the rate both for children under 18 (17 percent) and adults ages 18-64 (10 percent).

Table ECON 1. Percentage of Persons in Poverty, by Race and Age: Selected Years

Related Children

All Persons

Ages 0-5

Ages 6-17

Total

Under 18

18 to 64

65 & over

White

Black

Hispanic Origin

1959

N/A

N/A

22.4

27.3

17.0

35.2

18.1

55.1

N/A

1963

N/A

N/A

19.5

23.1

N/A

N/A

15.3

N/A

N/A

1966

N/A

N/A

14.7

17.6

10.5

28.5

11.3

41.8

N/A

1969

15.3

13.1

12.1

14.0

8.7

25.3

9.5

32.2

N/A

1973

15.7

13.6

11.1

14.4

8.3

16.3

8.4

31.4

21.9

1976

17.7

15.1

11.8

16.0

9.0

15.0

9.1

31.1

24.7

1979

17.9

15.1

11.7

16.4

8.9

15.2

9.0

31.0

21.8

1980

20.3

16.8

13.0

18.3

10.1

15.7

10.2

32.5

25.7

1981

22.0

18.4

14.0

20.0

11.1

15.3

11.1

34.2

26.5

1982

23.3

20.4

15.0

21.9

12.0

14.6

12.0

35.6

29.9

1983

24.6

20.4

15.2

22.3

12.4

13.8

12.1

35.7

28.0

1984

23.4

19.7

14.4

21.5

11.7

12.4

11.5

33.8

28.4

1985

22.6

18.8

14.0

20.7

11.3

12.6

11.4

31.3

29.0

1986

21.6

18.8

13.6

20.5

10.8

12.4

11.0

31.1

27.3

1987

22.3

18.9

13.4

20.3

10.6

12.5

10.4

32.4

28.0

1988

21.8

17.5

13.0

19.5

10.5

12.0

10.1

31.3

26.7

1989

21.9

17.4

12.8

19.6

10.2

11.4

10.0

30.7

26.2

1990

23.0

18.2

13.5

20.6

10.7

12.2

10.7

31.9

28.1

1991

24.0

19.5

14.2

21.8

11.4

12.4

11.3

32.7

28.7

1992

25.7

19.4

14.8

22.3

11.9

12.9

11.9

33.4

29.6

1993

25.6

20.0

15.1

22.7

12.4

12.2

12.2

33.1

30.6

1994

24.5

19.5

14.5

21.8

11.9

11.7

11.7

30.6

30.7

1995

23.7

18.3

13.8

20.8

11.4

10.5

11.2

29.3

30.3

1996

22.7

18.3

13.7

20.5

11.4

10.8

11.2

28.4

29.4

1997

21.6

18.0

13.3

19.9

10.9

10.5

11.0

26.5

27.1

1998

20.6

17.1

12.7

18.9

10.5

10.5

10.5

26.1

25.6

1999

18.0

15.5

11.8

16.9

10.0

9.7

9.8

23.6

22.8

Notes: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. All persons under 18 include related children (own children, including stepchildren and adopted children, plus all other children in the household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption), unrelated individuals under 18 (persons who are not living with any relatives), and householders or spouses under age 18.

Between 1993 and 1999, the percentage of the population in “deep poverty” (with incomes below 50 percent of the federal poverty level), decreased by more than a quarter (from over 6 percent in 1993 to less than 5 percent in 1999).

In general, the percentage of the population with incomes below 50 percent of the poverty threshold has followed a pattern that reflects the trend in the overall poverty rate, as shown in figure ECON 2. The percentage of people below 50 percent of poverty rose in the late 1970s and early 1980s, then, after falling slightly, rose to a second peak in 1993. The overall poverty rate followed a somewhat similar pattern, with more pronounced peaks and valleys.

Over the past two decades, there has been an overall increase in the proportion of the poverty population in deep poverty. From a low of 28 percent of the poverty population in 1976, this population rose to nearly 41 percent by 1992. In 1999, 39 percent of poor persons had incomes that fell below 50 percent of the poverty level.

Not only the poverty rate, but also the total number of poor people fell in 1999, as shown in Table ECON 2. While the overall U.S. population increased by nearly 100 million people between 1959 and 1999, there were actually 7 million fewer people in poverty in 1999 than forty years prior.

Table ECON 2. Number and Percentage of Total Population Below 50, 75, 100, and 125 Percent of Poverty Level: Selected Years

Below 50 percent

Below 75 percent

Below 100 percent

Below 125 percent

Number In 000’s

Total Population

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

1959

176,600

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

39,500

22.4

54,900

31.1

1961

181,300

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

39,600

21.9

54,300

30.0

1963

187,300

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

36,400

19.5

50,800

27.1

1965

191,400

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

33,200

17.3

46,200

24.1

1967

195,700

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

27,800

14.2

39,200

20.0

1969

199,500

9,600

4.8

16,400

8.2

24,100

12.1

34,700

17.4

1971

204,600

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

25,600

12.5

36,500

17.8

1973

208,500

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

23,000

11.1

32,800

15.8

1975

210,900

7,700

3.7

15,400

7.3

25,900

12.3

37,100

17.6

1976

212,300

7,000

3.3

14,900

7.0

25,000

11.8

35,500

16.7

1977

213,900

7,500

3.5

15,000

7.0

24,700

11.6

35,700

16.7

1978

215,700

7,700

3.6

14,900

6.9

24,500

11.4

34,100

15.8

1979

222,900

8,600

3.8

16,300

7.3

26,100

11.7

36,600

16.4

1980

225,000

9,800

4.4

18,700

8.3

29,300

13.0

40,700

18.1

1981

227,200

11,200

4.9

20,700

9.1

31,800

14.0

43,800

19.3

1982

229,400

12,800

5.6

23,200

10.1

34,400

15.0

46,600

20.3

1983

231,700

13,600

5.9

23,600

10.2

35,300

15.2

47,000

20.3

1984

233,800

12,800

5.5

22,700

9.7

33,700

14.4

45,400

19.4

1985

236,600

12,400

5.2

22,200

9.4

33,100

13.6

44,200

18.7

1986

238,600

12,700

5.3

22,400

9.4

32,400

14.0

44,600

18.7

1987

241,000

12,500

5.2

21,700

9.0

32,200

13.4

43,100

17.9

1988

243,500

12,700

5.2

21,400

8.8

31,700

13.0

42,600

17.5

1989

246,000

12,000

4.9

20,700

8.4

31,500

12.8

42,600

17.3

1990

248,600

12,900

5.2

22,600

9.1

33,600

13.5

44,800

18.0

1991

251,200

14,100

5.6

24,400

9.7

35,700

14.2

47,500

18.9

1992

256,500

15,500

6.1

26,200

10.2

38,000

14.8

50,500

19.7

1993

259,300

16,000

6.2

27,200

10.5

39,300

15.1

51,900

20.0

1994

261,600

15,400

5.9

26,400

10.1

38,100

14.5

50,500

19.3

1995

263,700

13,900

5.3

24,500

9.3

36,400

13.8

48,800

18.5

1996

266,200

14,400

5.4

24,800

9.3

36,500

13.7

49,300

18.5

1997

268,500

14,600

5.4

24,200

9.0

35,600

13.3

47,800

17.8

1998

271,100

13,900

5.1

23,000

8.5

34,500

12.7

46,000

17.0

1999

273,500

12,700

4.6

21,600

7.9

32,300

11.8

44,300

16.2

Note: The number of persons below 50 percent and 75 percent of poverty for 1969 are estimated based on the distribution of persons below 50 percent and 75 percent for 1969 taken from the 1970 decennial census.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Poverty in the United States: 1999,” Current Population Reports, Series P60-210, unpublished tables available online at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html, and 1970 Census of Population, Volume 1, Social and Economic Characteristics, Table 259.

Figure ECON 3. Percentage of Persons in Poverty Using Official and Alternative Poverty Measure: 1990-1999

Source: Census Bureau tabulations of March CPS data.

An alternative measure of poverty yields a poverty rate that is consistently higher than the official poverty rate, but that follows a similar pattern over time. The “DES-U” measure shown here is one of several developed by the Census Bureau to implement changes recommended by a panel from the National Academy of Sciences. These changes include counting non-cash benefits as income, subtracting from income certain work-related, health and child care expenses, and adjusting poverty thresholds for family size and geographic differences in housing costs (see note, Table ECON 3).

The percentage of children in poverty has steadily dropped since 1993, under both the “DES-U” alternative poverty measure (as shown in Table ECON 3) and the official poverty measure (as shown in Table ECON 1).

The alternative poverty rate used here suggests a significantly higher poverty rate among the elderly (adults ages 65 and over) than the official poverty rate. The official percentage of elderly adults in poverty in 1999 was under 10 percent, close to that of non-elderly adults (see Table ECON 1), while the alternative poverty measure resulted in a rate of poverty among elderly adults of 17 percent, almost as high as that for children.

Note: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. The alternative poverty measure used is the Different Equivalence Scale, unstandardized, or DES-U. Like several other measures developed by the Census Bureau to implement recommendations in a 1995 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report, this measure counts noncash benefits as income, subtracts from income certain work-related, health and child care expenses, and adjusts poverty thresholds for family size and geographic differences in housing. It is distinguished by using a different equivalence scale to adjust for changes in expenses as family size increases. Specifically, it adds a third parameter to the NAS measure that allows the first child in a single-adult family to represent a greater increase in expenses than the first child in a two-adult family. This version of the DES has not been “standardized,” that is, the overall poverty rate has not been adjusted to match the overall rate under the official measure for any particular year. Data for the above populations using the official poverty measure may be found in Table ECON 1.

Benefits from means-tested assistance programs remove some people from poverty. The official definition of poverty – which includes means-tested cash assistance (primarily TANF and SSI) in addition to cash income and social insurance – was 11.8 percent in 1999, as shown in the bold line in Figure ECON 4. Without cash welfare, the 1999 poverty rate would be one percentage point higher, or 12.7 percent, as shown by the top line in the figure above.

Adding other, non-cash, public assistance benefits to this definition has the effect of lowering the percentage of people who have incomes below the official poverty rate. Adding in the value of food and housing benefits reduces the poverty rate to 10.6 percent in 1999.

When income is defined as including benefits from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and federal taxes, the percentage of the total population in poverty decreases to 9.8 percent in 1999. Taxes have had a net effect of reducing poverty rates since the significant increases in the size of the EITC in 1993 and 1995.

Table ECON 4. Percentage of Total Population in Poverty with Various Means-Tested Benefits Added to Total Cash Income: Selected Years

1979

1983

1986

1989

1993

1995

1996

1998

1999

Cash Income Plus All Social Insurance

12.8

16.0

14.5

13.7

16.3

14.9

14.8

13.5

12.7

Plus Means-Tested Cash Assistance

11.6

15.2

13.6

12.8

15.1

13.8

13.7

12.7

11.8

Plus Food and Housing Benefits

9.7

13.7

12.2

11.2

13.4

12.0

12.1

11.3

10.6

Plus EITC and Federal Taxes

10.0

14.7

13.1

11.7

13.3

11.5

11.5

10.4

9.8

Reduction in Poverty Rate

2.8

1.3

1.4

2.0

3.0

3.4

3.3

3.1

2.9

Note: The four measures of income are as follows: 1) “Cash Income plus All Social Insurance” is earnings and other private cash income, plus social security, workers’ compensation, and other social insurance programs. It does not include means-tested cash transfers; (2) “Plus Means-Tested Assistance” shows the official poverty rate, which takes into account means-tested assistance, primarily AFDC/TANF and SSI; (3) “Plus Food and Housing Benefits” shows how poverty would be lower if the cash value of food and housing benefits were counted as income; and (4); “Plus EITC and Federal Taxes” is the most comprehensive poverty rate shown. EITC refers to the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit, which is always a positive adjustment to income whereas Federal payroll and income taxes are a negative adjustment. The fungible value of Medicare and Medicaid is not included.

The combined effect of means-tested cash assistance, food and housing benefits, EITC and taxes was to reduce the poverty rate in 1999 by 2.9 percentage points, as shown in Table ECON 4. Net reductions in poverty rates were somewhat lower during the recession of the early 1980s, and somewhat higher in the mid-1990s, largely due to expansions in the EITC.

Figure ECON 5. Percentage of Poverty Spells for Individuals Entering Poverty During the 1993 SIPP Panel, by Length of Spell

Source: Unpublished data from the SIPP, 1993 panel.

Nearly half (47 percent) of all poverty spells that began during the 1993 SIPP panel ended within 4 months and three-fourths ended within one year. Only 16 percent of all such spells were longer than 20 months.

Spells of poverty among adults age 65 and older tend to last longer than poverty spells among younger individuals. As shown in Table ECON 5, only 65 percent of poverty spells among adults age 65 and older ended within one year compared to 80 percent for women ages 16 to 64, 75 percent for men ages 16 to 64, and 73 percent for children ages 0 to 15.

A larger percentage of poverty spells among non-Hispanic blacks were longer than 20 months (23 percent) than was the case for spells among non-Hispanic whites (14 percent) and among Hispanics (15 percent).

In general, poverty spells are shorter than spells of welfare receipt begun in the same time period, as can be seen by comparing Figure ECON 5 to Figure IND 8 in Chapter II. That is, there is more movement in and out of poverty than movement on and off welfare. For example, 75 percent of poverty spells lasted a year or less, whereas only 60 percent of food stamp spells and 56 percent of AFDC spells lasted a year or less.

Table ECON 5. Percentage of Poverty Spells for Individuals Entering Poverty During the 1993 SIPP Panel, by Length of Spell, Race, and Age

Spells <=4 months

Spells <=12 months

Spells <=20 months

Spells >20 months

All Persons

47.3

75.4

84.3

15.7

Racial Categories

Non-Hispanic White

47.3

78.8

86.3

13.7

Non-Hispanic Black

39.9

64.1

76.7

23.3

Hispanic

42.5

74.4

84.7

15.3

Age Categories

Children Ages 0 – 15

43.8

73.0

82.2

17.8

Women Ages 16 – 64

47.6

79.9

88.9

11.1

Men Ages 16 – 64

51.6

75.2

84.2

15.8

Adults Age 65 and over

40.7

65.4

73.0

27.0

Note: Spell length categories are not mutually exclusive. Spells separated by only 1 month are not considered separate spells. Due to the length of the observation period, actual spell lengths for spells that lasted more than 20 months cannot be observed.

Figure ECON 6. Percentage of Children Ages 0 to 5 in 1982 Living in Poverty Between 1982 and 1991, by Years in Poverty and Race

Source: Unpublished data from the PSID, 1983-1992.

Among children who were ages 0 to 5 in 1982, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) never lived in poverty for any year over the next ten years. One-fifth (20 percent) lived in poverty for one to five years and 7 percent were poor for six to ten years.

During the 1982-1991 period, 28 percent of black children experienced longer-term poverty of six to ten years, a percentage much higher than that for non-black children during the same ten-year period (3 percent). Similar patterns existed in the 1972-1981 period, as shown in Table ECON 6.

For both time periods, the percentages of all individuals who were poor for only one to two years were much larger than the percentages of all individuals who experienced longer-term poverty. For example, while 11 percent of all individuals were poor for only one to two years between 1982 and 1991, only 3 percent were poor for six to eight years and only 2 percent were poor for nine to ten years during the same time period.

Children were more likely than others to experience long-term poverty, especially poverty of nine or ten years. Table ECON 6 shows that this pattern was true in both time periods.

Table ECON 6. Percentage of Individuals Living in Poverty Across Two Ten-Year Time Periods, by Years in Poverty, Race, and Age

Between 1982 and 1991:

All Persons

All Persons

Black

Non-Black

0 Years

78.8

50.6

82.9

1 - 2 Years

11.3

14.9

10.7

3 - 5 Years

5.3

14.4

4.0

6 - 8 Years

2.8

11.2

2.0

9 - 10 Years

1.8

8.9

0.7

100.0

100.0

100.0

Children 0 - 5 in 1982

All Children

Black Children

Non-Black Children

0 Years

73.3

40.9

79.2

1 - 2 Years

12.3

16.5

11.6

3 - 5 Years

7.5

14.8

6.1

6 - 8 Years

3.2

11.1

1.7

9 - 10 Years

3.8

16.8

1.4

Between 1972 and 1981:

All Persons

All Persons

Black

Non-Black

0 Years

79.2

45.6

83.7

1 - 2 Years

12.3

20

11.3

3 - 5 Years

4.6

16.6

3.1

6 - 8 Years

2.5

10.4

1.5

9 – 10 Years

1.2

7.5

0.4

Children 0 - 5 in 1972

All Children

Black Children

Non-Black Children

0 Years

75.6

34.1

82.3

1 - 2 Years

13.1

21.7

11.7

3 - 5 Years

5.6

20.5

3.2

6 - 8 Years

3.2

11.1

1.9

9 – 10 Years

2.5

12.8

0.9

Note: The base for the percentage is individuals in the first year (1982 or 1972). Children are defined by age in the first year. This measures years of poverty over the specified ten-year time periods and does not take into account years of poverty that may have occurred before the initial year (1982 or 1972).

Collections paid through the Child Support Enforcement system (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act) totaled $15.8 billion in 1999, nearly $1.5 billion more than in 1998. During the 1990s, child support collections grew rapidly, at an average rate of almost $1.1 billion a year.

Non-TANF collections as a percentage of overall collections by the IV-D program have rapidly increased in recent years. Non-TANF collections increased by nearly $1.7 billion between 1998 and 1999, while TANF collections declined by nearly $0.2 billion. However, the 6 percent drop in TANF collections between 1998 and 1999 was smaller than the 13 percent drop in the number of TANF recipient families over the same time period.

The amount of TANF collections paid to AFDC/TANF families has decreased since FY 1996, when the first $50 of each month’s child support collection were “passed through” to families that were receiving cash benefits. The $50 pass-through was repealed by the 1996 welfare reform law, although a number of states have opted to pass through some or all of collections to the custodial TANF family, despite the loss of revenues to the state.

In 1999, over 95 percent of TANF collections (collections on behalf of TANF recipients and for past due support assigned to the state by former TANF recipients) was retained to reimburse the state and federal governments for the cost of welfare benefits, as shown in Table ECON 7a.

Note: Not all states report current child support collections in all years. Constant dollar adjustments to the 1999 level were made using a CPI-U-X1 fiscal year average price index. Fiscal year 1999 data may not be exactly comparable to that of previous years due to changes in data reporting forms.

Figure ECON 7b. Average Annual Child Support Enforcement Payments for Current Support by Non-Custodial Parents with an Obligation and Payment (1998 Dollars): 1986-1998

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Child Support Enforcement Twenty-Third Annual Report to Congress, for the period ending September 30, 1998 (and earlier years), Washington, DC.

Average child support payments on behalf of families not receiving AFDC/TANF have, over time, been about twice as large as those payments for families receiving AFDC/TANF. (Note that many families classified as not on AFDC/TANF in a particular year may have received AFDC/TANF at some point in the past.)

When converted to constant dollars, average payments have not quite kept pace with inflation, as shown in Table ECON 7b. In constant (1998) dollars, annual child support enforcement payments to AFDC/TANF families decreased by 8 percent between FY 1986 and FY 1998, from $1,425 to $1,319. Payments to non-AFDC/TANF families fell by 18 percent in constant dollars over the same time period, from $2,877 to $2,361.

Table ECON 7b. Average Annual Child Support Enforcement Payments for Current Support by Non-Custodial Parents with an Obligation and Payment (Nominal and 1998 Dollars): 1986-1998

Payments (in millions)

AFDC/TANF

Non-AFDC/TANF

Total

Fiscal Year

Current Dollars

Constant ’98 Dollars

Current Dollars

Constant ’98 Dollars

Current Dollars

Constant ’98 Dollars

F.Y. CPI-U

1986

$959

$1,425

$1,936

$2,877

$1,433

$2,130

109.3

1987

910

1,315

1,851

2,675

1,416

2,046

112.4

1988

975

1,353

1,793

2,488

1,468

2,037

117.0

1989

1,046

1,386

1,770

2,345

1,457

1,930

122.6

1990

1,110

1,401

1,998

2,521

1,672

2,110

128.7

1991

1,049

1,260

1,989

2,389

1,711

2,055

135.2

1992

1,210

1,411

2,314

2,698

1,919

2,238

139.3

1993

1,230

1,392

2,498

2,827

1,990

2,252

143.5

1994

1,178

1,299

2,266

2,499

1,889

2,083

147.3

1995

1,294

1,388

2,595

2,784

2,167

2,325

151.4

1996

1,200

1,252

2,504

2,612

2,109

2,201

155.6

1997

1,221

1,241

2,427

2,467

2,116

2,150

159.8

1998

1,319

1,319

2,361

2,361

2,117

2,117

162.4

1986-98

– change

$360

-$106

$425

-$516

$684

-$13

53.1

– percent

37.6

-7.5

21.9

-18.0

47.7

-0.6

48.6

Note: Data for 1996 and 1997 are revised from previous report. Data for 1998 do not include information from Florida, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Child Support Enforcement Twenty-Third Annual Report to Congress, for the period ending September 30, 1998 (and earlier years), Washington, DC.

A large majority (90 percent) of American households was food secure in 1999 – that is, showed little or no evidence of concern about food supply or reduction in food intake.

Approximately 10 percent of households experienced food insecurity (not being able to afford enough food) at some level during the twelve months ending in April 1999. More than two-thirds of the food insecure households were without hunger, meaning that although food insecurity was evident in their concerns and in adjustments to household food management, little or no reduction in food intake was reported.

The prevalence of food insecurity with hunger in 1999 was 3 percent. One or more members of these households were estimated to have experienced reduced food intake and hunger as a result of financial constraints.

Households with income below poverty had a higher rate of food insecurity (37 percent) than the 10 percent rate among the general population, as shown in Table ECON 8a. Only 4 percent of families with incomes at or above 185 percent of the poverty level showed evidence of food insecurity.

As shown in Table ECON 8b, the incidence of food insecurity and hunger has declined since 1995, when food security data were first collected. Increases in 1996 and 1998 may be due to the timing of data collection in even years (fall) as compared with odd years (spring).

Note: Food secure households show little or no evidence of concern about food supply or reduction in food intake. Households classified as food insecure without hunger report food-related concerns, adjustments to household food management, and reduced variety and desirability of diet but report little or no reduction in food intake. Households classified as food insecure with hunger report reduced food intake and hunger. Because of changes in survey administration, statistics in Tables ECON 8b have been adjusted for cross-year comparability. These adjustments result in understating the prevalence of food insecurity. For example, the best estimate of food insecurity in 1999 is 10.1 percent (Table ECON 8a), while the estimate adjusted for cross-year comparability is 8.7 percent (Table ECON 8b).

Source: U.S. Department. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Household Food Security in the United States, 1999.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, March 2000.

Poor persons were twice as likely as all persons to be without health insurance in 1999 (32 percent compared to 16 percent). While the ratio varied across categories, persons with family income at or below the poverty line were more likely to be without health insurance regardless of race, gender, educational attainment, or age.

Hispanics were the racial/ethnic group least likely to have health insurance in 1999, among both the general population and those with incomes below the poverty line. While whites in general were more likely to have insurance than blacks, poor blacks were more likely to have insurance than poor whites.

Among all persons, amount of education was inversely related to health insurance coverage, as shown in Table ECON 9. However, among poor persons, educational attainment made little difference as to whether individuals had health insurance.

As shown in Table ECON 9, individuals ages 18 to 34 are the most likely to be without health insurance, among both the general population and the poor population. Nearly half of all 18 to 34 year-olds with incomes below the poverty line had no health insurance in 1999.

Table ECON 9. Percentage of Persons without Health Insurance, by Income and Selected Characteristics: 1999

All Persons

Poor Persons

All Persons

15.5

32.4

Male

16.5

35.0

Female

14.6

30.4

White

14.2

33.2

Black

21.2

28.1

Hispanic

33.4

43.7

No H.S. Diploma

26.7

36.5

H.S. Graduate, no college

17.6

38.3

College Graduate

8.2

35.9

Age 18 and under

13.9

23.3

Ages 18-24

29.0

45.4

Ages 25-34

23.2

51.9

Ages 35-44

16.5

44.8

Ages 45-64

13.8

36.0

Age 65 and over

1.3

3.4

Note: "Poor persons" are defined as those with total family incomes at or below the poverty rate. Persons of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Health Insurance Coverage: 1999,” Current Population Reports, Series P60-211, 2000.

Survey Disclaimer

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0990-0379. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, OS/OCIO/PRA, 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Suite 336-E, Washington D.C. 20201, Attention: PRA Reports Clearance Officer.